Education is a syncretic process. Education is an active process of synthesis, not a passive process of absorption. 

Reading Critically

This is a school. These are courses. The readings assigned on this page are assigned in the manner of all post-secondary education. The reader is expected to engage critically with the both the writings and the authors. All of the readings are assigned because faculty believe that the readings have important things that readers should absorb. Readers are cautioned to simply accept what the authors argue in the readings. These readings will disagree and even contradict each other. This is inevitable. Humans do not see the world identically. The purpose is not to swallow whole the writings and the arguments presented. The purpose of these readings is to provide kindling for the fire in the minds of the students. Explore and wrestle with the readings, come out the other side of the process with a new world view based on your experience, not as an acolyte of any one book or author. 

Problematic Authors

The school, the faculty, and the curriculum all skirt the fringe of publicly acceptable beliefs. As a result, many of the authors of many of the assigned readings hold awkward, objectionable, or outright bigoted ideas. HP Lovecraft features among the assigned the readings. Lovecraft lived from 1890 to 1937, and Lovecraft was a bigot even for that era. Students are not expected to overlook Lovecraft’s bigotry. Students are expected to confront it. An author having useful things to say does not mean everything that they say is correct. An author can be progressive on one topic and regressive on another. An author can be correct on one point and incorrect on many other points. While studying the assigned readings, Students are expected to engage critically with the authors and their views. 

Once again, the purpose of these readings is to provide kindling for the fire in the minds of the students. Faculty hopes that students will challenge the authors, rather than canonize them, and come out the other side of the process with a new world view based on your experience, not as an acolyte of any one book or author.